HR1074 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1074 LRB093 22592 HSS 52185 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois remember the passing of Gordon H. Larsen of Lake in the Hills on November 24, 2003 with great sadness; and

WHEREAS, Gordon H. Larsen was born in Milwaukee April 19, 1921; he served four years in the U.S. Army during World War II; a member of the "Greatest Generation", Gordon H. Larsen was in the fourth wave of infantry men at D-Day that invaded the Nazi stronghold at Normandy Beach; he rescued wounded American soldiers, as well as liberating the French when his regiment, the 28th Infantry, marched into Paris; and

WHEREAS, In McHenry County, he was active in veteran activities and even donated his 1943 Ford Jeep to the VFW; and

WHEREAS, He was an entrepreneur, starting his own trucking company in 1947; and

WHEREAS, Gordon and Joan, his wife of 57 years, moved to Lake in the Hills in 1963 to a farm north of which is the bank he later founded in 1995; he was Chairman of the Board of the Illinois State Bank until his death in a car accident on slippery roads November 24, 2003; and

WHEREAS, During his life in Lake in the Hills, he donated 50 acres of valuable land to the Village of Lake in the Hills, School District 300, the Sanitary District, and McHenry County Conservation District; he received the "Certificate of Appreciation" in grateful acknowledgement of outstanding service to the Lake in the Hills Jayceettes; and

WHEREAS, He served on the Lake in the Hills Economic Development Commission and was a Charter Member of the Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Rotary; he was named the Vern Harnish "Business Person of the Year" in 1996; he received the Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Chamber of Commerce award in 1997; and

WHEREAS, Gordon and his wife, Joan, were honored for their 20 years of contributions to the "Food Basket Project" in 1998; in 2001, Gordon Larsen was designated "Mr. Lake in the Hills" by the business community; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Gordon Larsen, and we honor the memory of an outstanding businessman and citizen who made tremendous contributions to his country and his community; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Gordon Larsen as an expression of sincere respect for his memory.